It’s hard to call the Ecology Action Centre activists when at this point the group’s efforts—their campaigns, research reports, their dedicated team of staff and hundreds of volunteers—are an institution of the Halifax ecosystem. The environmental non-profit was founded nearly 50 years ago and has been voted Best Activist Organization every year by Coast readers for just about as long. Policy director Mark Butler says all those wins, and all the centre has accomplished, are a result of the local collaboration and community the EAC thrives on. “On many issues, where we win, it’s because we’re not working alone,” he says. “Usually when we get things done in Nova Scotia, it’s because we team up with other groups—other sectors—and that’s how we make a difference.” In recognition of everything the organization has accomplished over the decades (and its ongoing undefeated streak), The Coast is proud to induct the Ecology Action Centre into our BOH Hall of Fame. But that doesn’t mean you can start taking things easy, EAC. Keep up the good work. We’re all counting on it.

Here’s the million dollar question: how does Best Blogger winner Halifax ReTales always know so much about which businesses are opening and closing? It’s downright spooky. “That is the ultimate question that I get all the time,” says mastermind Arthur Gaudreau. “It’s not a silver bullet...It’s different sources. I get a bit here and a little bit there.” It also doesn’t hurt that people in this town love their gossip. Servers, construction workers, real estate agents—everybody has some bit of news, and ReTales is willing to listen. “You just uncover as many rocks as you can.”

“I’m a little boy from Glace Bay, it just blows me away,” says Jason Rose-Spurrell AKA Rouge Fatale, choking back tears, of the news of his 10th consecutive win for Best Drag Performer. “I went from working for a drink ticket or two, to working my butt off to help make it mainstream here. I got to see my face on a billboard, perform at the casino, travel across Canada”—he says as he, coincidentally, gets ready to head to Yellowknife with members of the Glamazon Army—“I got to prove Halifax has a thriving drag community. I’m so proud of not only my career—but everyone else in the community too.” Over the last decade, the city’s fatal(e) attraction for Rose-Spurrell’s always-sparkling, buxom and babely alter ego Rouge has continued to grow to keep up with her larger-than-life persona. Along with being inducted into the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame thanks to this win, she also takes home a bronze award for Best Local Personality and Rose-Spurrell says this support for the local drag community is nothing short of unreal. “To see the variations of drag now—the hyper queens, the drag kings, the gender fuck and the non-binary—all these phenomenal performers! It proves there’s no wrong way to do drag, as long as you’re doing it your way that’s all that matters.”